Von Wafer received only a text message Wednesday telling him the Rockets had chosen to keep him on the roster past the deadline to release players before their contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season.

Though that had seemed obvious since so many players at his position began spending as much time in the training room as on the court and Wafer began producing, Wednesday was another breakthrough for Wafer, who had been considered a long shot to make the team out of training camp.

Wafer, however, said he had refused to worry and therefore took no relief.

"I’m just going to keep trying to do what I do," he said. "I have bigger goals. I’m trying to accomplish something. It is a good day."

Teammate Aaron Brooks revealed, however, that Wafer had to think about his situation sometimes.

"I used to tease him about it," Brooks said. "I told him, ‘I can’t wait until we get rid of you.’"

More like reunion tour

Dikembe’s Mutombo’s ‘farewell tour’ last season has been more about reunions, first with the teams for which he played, Atlanta and Philadelphia, and then with the one he said he nearly joined.

Mutombo said he had planned to sign with the Celtics, given his relationship with Celtics managing partner Steve Pagliuca and his family, friends from their Basketball Without Borders activities in Africa and China.

But when the Celtics needed more time to consider options, Mutombo said he gave in to the lobbying efforts of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming and signed with the Rockets.

"There was a lot of consideration there," said Mutombo, who signed with the Rockets on Dec. 31. "I think at the last minutes, especially on the 24th and 25th, I was not the only one in the picture anymore they were looking at.

"That kind of discouraged me a little bit. I had about seven organizations that want me and this organization that I want to go to, they’re looking at somebody else. Should I be on the waiting list or should I take the offer that was there on the table?

"I was ready to come to this cold city but they were not ready for me."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he could not blame Mutombo for making that choice.

"We liked him, too," Rivers said. "We wanted to wait and see what was out there. He wasn’t willing to do that, and I understood, we understood that."

Not so tough after all

With losses in five of seven games going into the second half of a back-to-back, the coach lamented the schedule and health issues working against him.

"It’s been a tough stretch for us early in the year. We’ve played a lot of games, more than most teams have — especially with all the back-to-backs and all those things. We’re going to get a break later. We’ve just got to get through this. We’ve just got to make do with what we have."

That was not Rockets coach Rick Adelman but rather the Celtics’ Doc Rivers, who then considered his opponent and stopped there.

"Listen, the team we’re playing — we can’t complain about sore bodies or injuries when you think about what they’ve gone through," he said. "They’ve gone through more than any team I’ve seen in memory. So we have bruises; they have true injuries.’’

Of their 37 games, the Celtics have played 20 in Boston. The Rockets’ 15 home games are tied for second fewest in the NBA. Wednesday’s starting lineup was their 14th this season.